Air Pollution: Coronavirus

(asked on 28th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will postpone the introduction of proposed Clean Air Zones until after the end of the covid-19 outbreak to minimise the financial and societal effects on businesses and residents; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 1st October 2020

In many areas we have seen significant improvements in air quality as a result of the reduction in traffic caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, allowing people to breathe cleaner air than they have done in years. However, traffic levels are increasing in many areas. As my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has said, we do not believe that the temporary drops in traffic levels should be used as a reason for not progressing actions to clean up our air. For this reason, we remain fully committed to working with local authorities on the introduction of Clean Air Zones in those areas where they have been identified as necessary.

While we accepted delays to the implementation of Clean Air Zones following the initial outbreak of Covid-19, we are now working with local authorities to introduce them as soon as possible where evidence shows they are still required.

Local authorities can continue to access support from the Clean Air Fund to help businesses impacted by Clean Air Zones, which forms part of the £880 million funding to deliver nitrogen dioxide reductions.

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